Problem

Many Indigenous communities across the U.S. Southwest experience chronic energy poverty. Roughly 14% of households on Native American reservations lack access to electricity, a rate nearly 10 times the national average. This has led to a dependence on diesel generators. These fossil fuel sources perpetuate high emissions and limited energy access. Tribal lands often lack involvement in the design and decision-making of energy infrastructure and clean energy transition projects, such as fossil fuel extraction sites or even some state-led renewable energy installations, that are implemented on or near their territories. These exclusions undermine cultural values, self-determination, and economic opportunities for Indigenous inhabitants.

Beyond lack of access to traditional energy infrastructure, deeper issues lie in the historical and ongoing lack of Indigenous sovereignty over energy systems on their traditional lands. Tribal lands have often been the site of extractive projects designed and executed without the consent, input, or leadership.

Response

Founded by Indigenous activists and Native communities, and led by Indigenous women, Sacred Earth Solar envision a path to energy transition that centres Indigenous knowledge, community control, and ecological balance. Operating across multiple tribal lands in the U.S. and Canada, Sacred Earth Solar works in close collaboration with Native communities to co-design and install solar microgrids to replace diesel reliance and empower local leadership. Projects such as the 1.2 MW solar array on Navajo Nation lands focus heavily on tribal participation, with 80% of installations employing tribal members.

But beyond job creation, Sacred Earth Solar also reinvests revenue into community-driven programs and supports the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into solar design and placement. For instance, solar panels are often installed in ways that respect sacred sites, wildlife patterns, and community-defined priorities, ensuring that technology supports rather than disrupts Indigenous worldviews. This Indigenous-led model showcases how community-rooted clean-energy solutions can displace carbon-intensive energy sources while strengthening energy sovereignty and sustaining indigenous traditional knowledge and livelihoods.

Find out more: Sacred Earth Solar